Just discovered but already in a fight to survive

Newly discovered species in the Greater Mekong Delta

The World Wide Fund for Nature releases images of newly discovered species from a devilish-looking bat to a frog that sings like a bird, scientists have identified 126 new species in the Greater Mekong area in a new report detailing discoveries in 2011. Photo: JODI J.L. ROWLEY/Australian Muse

FROM a devilish-looking bat to a frog that sings like a bird, scientists have identified 126 new species in the Greater Mekong area, the World Wildlife Fund says in a new report detailing discoveries made last year.

But from forest loss to the construction of hydropower projects on the Mekong River, existing threats to the region's biodiversity mean many of the species are already struggling to survive, the conservation group warns. ''The good news is new discoveries. The bad news is that it is getting harder and harder in the world of conservation and environmental sustainability,'' said Nick Cox, manager of WWF-Greater Mekong's Species Program.

Some 126 species were newly recorded last year in the Greater Mekong region, which consists of Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos and the southwestern Chinese province of Yunnan.

Some, such as the Beelzebub tube-nosed bat discovered in Vietnam, depend on tropical forests for survival and so are especially vulnerable to deforestation.

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In just four decades, 30 per cent of the Greater Mekong's forests have disappeared, the report says.

Others, such as a short-tailed python species found in Myanmar are more at risk from illegal hunting for meat, skins, and the exotic pet trade.

The list, dominated by plants, included 21 reptiles and five amphibians, such as a frog that sings and another that has black and white eye patterns that look like yin and yang symbols.